Sweet 16 2012 Bracket: Predicting Which Cinderella Teams Will Advance to Elite 8

Perhaps the most exciting part of the NCAA tournament is watching teams that nobody believed in make a run into the second weekend and possibly even beyond.

It’s what makes March Madness so great, and a reason why the tourney is one of the most exciting events in all of sports.

There are only a few teams that still qualify for the distinction of a “Cinderella” story, which include Xavier, Ohio and NC State. You could argue to add Indiana to that list if they manage to somehow beat Kentucky.

Let’s take a look at two teams that have a real chance to win and advance to the Elite Eight, continuing their fairytale run.

Ohio

The No. 13-seeded Bobcats have become a national darling after knocking out Michigan and South Florida in back-to-back games to reach the Sweet 16.

They have a tough but extremely winnable matchup against the suddenly vulnerable North Carolina Tar Heels on Friday.

North Carolina may be without key player and point guard Kendall Marshall because of a fractured wrist.

He’s expected to undergo surgery on Monday on his non-shooting wrist, and his status for this game is unknown.

The Bobcats would be catching a huge break if he were unable to suit up and could easily take advantage of a stagnant UNC offense to pull off the upset.

NC State

The Wolfpack got hot at the right time and are looking to ride their momentum past the Kansas Jayhawks on Friday night.

This is a big team from a major conference that could have beaten a full-strength UNC in the ACC tournament and destroyed San Diego State to open their 2012 tourney run.

Do not sleep on the Wolfpack, who have the experience, size, shooting and skill to advance to the next round and maybe even further.